The Top 50 Rappers of All Time
 

Before you get all your panties in a bunch this is not my list. This list was composed by Kool Mo Dee. Argue with him but chances are he will laugh at your net raps.
The book is called “There’s a GOD on the MIC” and it lists the top 50 MC’s by his opinion. I will break it down by number. I will only copy the noted strength, noted weakness and any special accolades. If you know Kool Mo then you know he gave rappers report cards, this book does so in number grades (60-100). I will probably mention any noted 100’s. He also had a nick name for each (it will be here)

Subjects: originality, concepets, versatility, vocabulary, substance, flow, flavor, freestyle, vocal presence, live performance, poetic value, body of work, industry work, social work, longevity, lyrics, battle skills

And I better get thank you’s from all you bitches

50 Just-Ice (The original gangster)
Strong: Aggressiveness on the mic
Weak: Overaggressive, he went all out too much.
GPA:73.2

49 Mack 10 (Gangster Boogie)
Strong: Delivery
Weak: lack of wordplay
GPA: 73.5

48 Foxy Brown (underrated lyrical lady)
Strong: Always matches energy
Weak: No content outside of sex
GPA: 74.7

47: Spoonie Gee (The cold crushin lover)
Strong: Smooth voice
Weak: nervous energy
GPA: 75
Notable: Originality

46: Fat Joe (The puerto rican rhyme son)
Strong: Rhyme pitch
Weak: Excess profanity
GPA: 75.2

45: Jeru The Damaja (poetic messenger)
Strong: positive concepts
Weak: vocal presence
GPA: 75.5
Notable: Concepts

44: Craig Mack (Master Flavor)
Strong: flavor
Weak: too much flavor, no one takes him serious due to coming off comical
GPA: 75.8
Notable: Originality, Flavor

43: MC Shan (The unsung lyricist)
Strong: rhyme structure
Weak: voice, too high pitched
GPA: 76.1

42: Lil’ Kim (femme fatale)
Strong: Flow and flavor
Weak: no diversity
GPA: 76.7

41: Big Pun (latin lyrical king)
Strong: Rapid fire flow
Weak: live performance due to weight
GPA: 77
Notable: Lyrics

40: Slick Rick (master storyteller)
Strong: Storytelling
Weak: lack of substantive lyrics
GPA: 77
Notable: originality, flow

39: Kurupt (lyrical gangster)
Strong: wordplay
Weak: song structure
GPA: 77.3

38: Mystical (The blazin’ Cajun)
Strong: never boring
Weak: too hard to follow
GPA: 77.6
Notable: Originality, Vocal Presence

37: Keith Murry (the rhymologist)
Strong: animated energy
Weak: vocal tone and pitch
GPA: 77.6

36: Doug E Fresh (master entertainer)
Strong: live performances
Weak: records, he was all about the stage
GPA: 77.9
Notable: originality, live performance, longevity

35: Ice-T (O.G. player)
Strong: Essence
Weak: flow
GPA: 78.2
Notable: longevity

34: Guru (the quiet storm)
Strong: Substance
Weak: Monotone
GPA: 78.5
Notable: longevity

33: Snoop Dogg (The smoothest ever)
Strong: Melodic and smooth voice
Weak: content
GPA: 78.5
Notable: flavor, longevity

32: Run (the king)
Strong: energy and live preformance
Weak: content
GPA: 78.8
Notable: live performance, body of work, industry impact, longevity.

31: Kurtis Blow (the original)
Strong: song writing
Weak: flow and cadence
GPA: 79.1
Notable: originality

30: scarface (the southpaw)
Strong: rhyme cadence
Weak: limited subject matter
GPA: 79.4
Notable: longevity

29: Black thought (substance spitter)
Strong: substantive lyrics
Weak: vocal dynamics
GPA: 79.9

28: Common (poetry in motion)
Strong: poetic prose
Weak: lyrical elision
GPA: 80

27: Xzibit (the hardcore rhymer)
Strong: track attack
Weak: songwriting
GPA: 80.2

26: Pharoahe Monch (unorthodox master)
Strong: vocabulary and concepts
Weak: lyrical overkill
GPA: 80.5
Notable: Vocabulary, Lyrics

25: Heavy D (the all purpose MC)
Strong: flow/flavor
Weak: lyric simplicity
GPA: 80.8

24: Busta Rhymes (master energy)
Strong: vocals
Weak: scatterd lyrics
GPA: 81.1
Notable: Flavor, live performance, body of work, longevity

23: Will Smith (the unsung hero)
Strong: acting
Weak: acting, he comes off as playing a role too much
GPA: 81.7
Notable: longevity

22: GZA the genius (the lyrical one)
Strong: clever writing
Weak: too undynamic
GPA: 82
Notable: Lyrics

21: Ras Kass (the pure lyricist)
Strong: Metaphoric wordplay
Weak: rhyme retardation
GPA: 82.3
Notable: Freestyle, Lyrics

20: Redman (the firestarter)
Strong: comedic wit
Weak: substance abuse, only does sex drugs and parties
GPA: 82.9
Notable: Flavor. Vocal presence, longevity

19: MC Lyte (timeless rhymes)
Strong: special delivery
Weak: the stage
GPA: 84.1
Notable: longevity

18: Ice Cube (The unstoppable force)
Strong: social commentary
Weak: prosaic not poetic
GPA: 84.1
Notable: longevity

17: Method Man (Master Flow-er)
Strong: Flow!!
Weak: secret codes, too much inner slang
GPA: 84.7
Notable: Flow

16: Treach (Master rhyme stylist)
Strong: anthems
Weak: rhyme pitch, no change in pitch
GPA: 85
Notable: vocal presence, longevity

15: Jay-Z (king of the streets)
Strong: hit making
Weak: wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong sy-LLAB-le
GPA: 85.2
Notable: body of work

14: Kool G Rap (lord of the underground)
Strong: lyrical terrorism
Weak: hit formula-less
GPA: 85.5
Notable: Lyrics

13: Tupac (The truth)
Strong: Diverse talk
Weak: death talk
GPA: 87
Notable: versatility, body of work, industry impact

12: Queen Latifah (The queen)
Strong: duality for singing and rapping
Weak: talent excess, she was too talented at too many things
GPA: 88.2
Notable: social impact, longevity

11: Nas (the ghetto prophet)
Strong: Street level lyrics
Weak: undynamic
GPA: 88.5
Notable: substance, lyrics

10: Lauryn Hill (angelic warrior princess of poetry)
Strong: songwriting and rhyme spitting
Weak: None!
GPA: 90
Notable: versatility, industry impact, lyrics

9: Notorious B.I.G. (the power)
Strong: story flow
Weak: scattered rhymes
GPA: 90.2
Notable: flow, flavor, vocal presence, industry impact

8: Chuck D (the voic)
Strong: delivery
Weak: clarity
GPA: 90.5
Notable: originality, substance, flavor, vocal presence, live performance, body of work, industry impact, social impact

7: LL Cool J (unbreakable master)
Strong: charisma
Weak: battle, he loved himself too much to diss his opponent
GPA:
Notable: versatility, vocabulary, vocal presence, live performance, body of work, industry impact, longevity

6: Grand Master Caz (live rhyme master)
Strong: lyrical flavor
Weak: wax
GPA: 91.1
Notable: originality, versatility, flavor, vocal presence, live preformace, lyrics

5: Kool Mo Dee (master technician)
Strong: rhyme craftsmanship
Weak: never showed vulnerability
GPA: 91.4
Notable: Originality, vocabulary, substance, vocal presence, longevity, lyrics, battle*

*direct quote “I am absolutely the battle master in the game outside of KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and Grandmaster Caz. Basically battling is my domain. That’s what I do.

4: Big Daddy Kane (master of metaphor)
Strong: metaphor delivery
Weak: too much pimping
GPA: 91.7
Notable: flow, vocal presence, lyrics, battle skills

3: KRS-One (master of ceremonies)
Strong: Potency
Weak: no women songs
GPA: 93.8
Notable: substance, flow, freestyle, vocal presence, body of work, longevity, lyrics, battle skills

2: Rakim (master rhymer)
Strong: Rhymes – the greatest rapper ever (direct quote)
Weak: Live lexicon, his lyrics were not made for singing along
GPA: 94.1
Notable: Flow, Vocal Presence, Poetic Value, Body of work, Longevity, lyrics

1: Melle Mel (the godfather of rhyme)
Strong: Vocals
Weak: never changed with the game
GPA: 94.4
Notable: Oriniginality, Substance, vocal presence, live performance, poetic value, industry impact, social impact, lyrics

0: The Realist (golden child of rap)
Strong: Absorbs from his elders
Weak: sportatic drops
GPA: 95
Break Down:
Originality: Nothing new but still comes hard
Concepts: His flip on topics is well deserved
Versatility: He lacks the ability to make you look bad
Vocabulary: Up and coming, very developed
Substance: None to speak of
Flow: Too inconsistent
Flavor: His topics are hard to relate to
Freestyle: He cant
Vocal Presence: None to speak of
Live performance: none to speak of
Poetic value: in progress, but I see good things
Body of work: you can see his elevation in his works, but they each can stand alone
Industry impact: He made it out of the internet, that’s why hes ranked so high
Social impact: if anything, child molesters have an icon
Longevity: started in august 2003, and his on top of his game in such a short time
Lyrics: The English language is too basic for him
Battle skills: none to speak of, but his ghost writers are up and coming

Now shut the fuck up, and pay me!

I dont see how snoop dogg is better than Guru, kurupt or MC Shan... and i dont see how lil' kim could be considered better than Jean Grae or Rah Digga...

man what the fuck doe kool moe dee know about rap anyway









just a joke

you dont see it, then do this:

become a legendary MC
listen to all kinds of rap
evaluate everyones skill
write a book about it

I SHOULD FUCKING KILL YOU!!!

i dont agree with most of that list.....maybe ill do my own top 50 one of these days

blah.... he explained it in the book, but im not typing all that up
go buy and the book then!

i'm tight on the list making, but it's cool to read about the descriptions of those other rappers

Is there any way to read the book online?

kool moe dee is a legend,so his opinion should be respected to apoint. But putting himself on the list fucked everything up, the fact is no rapper can list the top 50 emcees, because they are going to have certain favorites. Notice top 8 were old school emcees that were hot when he was? Yeah so like i said, its respected but don't take it to heart, cuz nobody else will. And besides didn't LL rip Kool Moe Dee? So obviously he didn't love himself too much to do that. Once again, respect it,don't follow it

kool moe dee is a legend,so his opinion should be respected to apoint. But putting himself on the list fucked everything up, the fact is no rapper can list the top 50 emcees, because they are going to have certain favorites. Notice top 8 were old school emcees that were hot when he was? Yeah so like i said, its respected but don't take it to heart, cuz nobody else will. And besides didn't LL rip Kool Moe Dee? So obviously he didn't love himself too much to do that. Once again, respect it,don't follow

Kool Mo said that LL has yet to win a battle with anyone

and the number 0 kid is underrated

number 0 kid....lmao....nice ¬_¬

:D

bet that took you TIME to type all that out

LL got merked by Canibus no question, but of course he isn't going to say he lost to LL. But in my opinion, yeah LL beat him.

i started when track 1 of capital punishment started...i finished when the CD was over and i was 2 songs into Rakim

that list was pretty..... pretty.... off..... yeah

His opinion should be respected. These are people who have made an impact on the Mainstream rap world, like it or not. I don't agree with some of the list, but it does come off as a strong list.

dont agree with the list.^ jl'os bangin

kool mo is one of the ppl u instantly think about wenever rap is mentioned, but every1's got an opinion and he is entitled to his and u gotta respect wat he says.

Damn, he didn't even put Your Load and Savoir Eminem on the list.....

I got nothing but respect for Kool Moe Doe, but I think he fellin hiself a little to much to put himself that high. I think thats a little vein...

I don;t know about Lil Kim, and no Andre 3000!? And to me DMC was iller than Run....

OK, Will Smith is better than Pharoahe Monch? Dee is definitely a legend, but I don't think his opinion is any more "expert" than any head that listens to ridiculous amounts of hip hop, which is a lot of heads even here on this forum.

Where is Blackstar?

^^ they would show up on Kool's next book
Top 50 Grounps of all time

guys you all complain about the rating...but look at the subjects at which they are graded...

IT NOT ALL LYRICS!!

Lyrics is 1 catagory... but not the end all be all of the list, and each category is just as strong as everyone else

So this list will not have the illest rhyme head EVER if his flow is sub par, no vocal presense, little impact on the game, etc

The people on the list all were above average in the mix of all catagories

GOD FUCKING LEARN TO READ

^ yeah i know, but HONESTLY, can you say that Andre3000, Eminem, DMX (i dont think he was on the list) are WORSE than will smith or lil kim? I mean seriously? they have everything lil kim does, except theyre interesting with SKILLS. also, he doesnt have a single underground artist there. Immortal Technique or Canibus should be around #30 overall.

I think someone who said the thing about he favours the "old MC's" was right, since independent wasnt around until the mid 90's and lots of the modern MC's like DMX and Eminem werent mentioned.

I respect the list, but i dont agree with most of it.

Lol, I've Never Thought Of Kool Mo Dee
As A Great Battler...I've Heard One Track
Dissin LL Cool J With A Lot Words That Began
With That Letter L. It Was Pretty Funny, By
The Way Does Anyone Know What That's
Called?

what an ass


i said it was JUST A JOKE go read my post again

WOW

EMINEM IS ON HERE SUMWHERE ISNT HE?? YA I MUST HAVE MISSED HIM

Who is the Realist??

Later...

The Savior of Rap

wheres da true rappers at in the whole equation.......
eminem?? dr dre?? mobb deep?? fiori...lol (jk'in)
have y'all lost ya fk'in minds...............
fabolous has sum tight flows..............

and in my eyes, 2Pac is no. 1, he is truely the dopest rapper ever to have lived............

and explain how ll cool j is betta than 2pac, notorious b.i.g and nas........

that list is wack, no hate on your opinion cos every1 has there own but i wouldn't even have considered sum of them

peace

Umm i think it was good that he finally showed some of the new hip hop heads about old school (and no eminem on a top 50 list...FINALLY!) but i think that because he's from the old school he was a little biased against newer artists, and as far as his "weak" listings a few were ridiculous while others were downright untrue, there is no reason for Pun to ever not even crack top 40 alltime thats definitely going too far but i think its interesting at how an artist like him who came from the origin of hip hop views alot of today's rappers and icons,the one thing i think he had 100% correct was LL's rating (even though his "weak" notes are foolish) LL is one of teh def-ist and most under rated, 1luv.

I'm jsut happy 50 an ja arent up there, but what about Cannibus or there weren't many underground rappers, and also you shoud have DMX, becasue he was apart of the big change in hip hop, i saw you had Run, but you need DMC, they could'nt do it with otu each other, it would be blah, but i still think this was a good 50

Fucking Foxy Brown and Lil Kim made that list?

That list is ass

So who is the Savior of Rap/The Realist? Is he underground or something?

Later...

^^^I hope you are kidding, *sigh*idiots these days, give me a bad name

<----

^ LMAO

Shouldnt you know, "Vision"?

Anyway... Lil Kim is poo-poo

putting her on the list ahead of Rah Digga or Jean Grae is simply gay.

koo... but Will Smith? is dat fo real... anywayz... personally i dont see how lauryn hill can be considered a better mc/rapper than 2pac... i seriously cannot see how someone can think that

Er... okay.

Later...

I could complain bout all the horrible selections on the list but what's the point.......the real crime is Rakim is second!!!!!!!!